Psycho Mike
Free Cdn
It has made it through customs and is winging its way to me. Yay! Now comes the hard part....seeing if I can actually put it together the way I want.
Mine isn't going to be a typical long....I'm after a "fresh from the gunsmith" look with bright finished hardware and a light finished stock (personal preference...everyone is going for aqua fortis / iron nitrate these days and I want something closer to an old Lyman I had). Still going to try to highlight the figure (looked pretty good for "regular" maple....maybe was an in-between grade), but aiming to have an overall honey-brown color. I'm also going to attempt some minor carving (molding lines, patch box lid) and will try my hand at insetting a "coin" in the comb of the stock.
Hopefully the rest of the build will go better than getting that darn coin ready... While not fully period correct (the symbolism of a Maltese cross could have been seen on a select few rifles, depending on the owner), it will reflect me well. I'm making use of a cut-down old hat brass in this case and I figured it'd look period unless you get super close and read the text around the cross itself (which is from about 100 years later than when the Colonial "fits"). It might not be fully period, but neither is a CNC'd stock
I figured using the brass would be a great idea and easy way to try with a first inset...but man alive, did they ever know how to metal plate those old hat brasses! I originally thought it was chrome over brass...you know, strip the chrome and it would match the hardware. Well, HCl / muriatic acid couldn't touch the silver colored plating. Tried cola, tried vinegar, tried caustic....nada. So, I filed the edge to see what I was dealing with and to give it the bevel needed to get ready for future insetting. The base metal looks like bronze, not brass...surprise!! Meh, it still works for what I want to do. So, I ended up trying a variety of the acids we have at work with no joy....until I decided to tempt fate with some nitric acid (will eat away at bronze). Well, that worked like a charm...that plating vanished pretty dang quick and I managed to do it without a loss of much base metal / detail. Now to get this little bugger all polished up so it's waiting when I get to that stage
I'll keep the gang here in the loop, if you are interested, as I build.
Mine isn't going to be a typical long....I'm after a "fresh from the gunsmith" look with bright finished hardware and a light finished stock (personal preference...everyone is going for aqua fortis / iron nitrate these days and I want something closer to an old Lyman I had). Still going to try to highlight the figure (looked pretty good for "regular" maple....maybe was an in-between grade), but aiming to have an overall honey-brown color. I'm also going to attempt some minor carving (molding lines, patch box lid) and will try my hand at insetting a "coin" in the comb of the stock.
Hopefully the rest of the build will go better than getting that darn coin ready... While not fully period correct (the symbolism of a Maltese cross could have been seen on a select few rifles, depending on the owner), it will reflect me well. I'm making use of a cut-down old hat brass in this case and I figured it'd look period unless you get super close and read the text around the cross itself (which is from about 100 years later than when the Colonial "fits"). It might not be fully period, but neither is a CNC'd stock
I figured using the brass would be a great idea and easy way to try with a first inset...but man alive, did they ever know how to metal plate those old hat brasses! I originally thought it was chrome over brass...you know, strip the chrome and it would match the hardware. Well, HCl / muriatic acid couldn't touch the silver colored plating. Tried cola, tried vinegar, tried caustic....nada. So, I filed the edge to see what I was dealing with and to give it the bevel needed to get ready for future insetting. The base metal looks like bronze, not brass...surprise!! Meh, it still works for what I want to do. So, I ended up trying a variety of the acids we have at work with no joy....until I decided to tempt fate with some nitric acid (will eat away at bronze). Well, that worked like a charm...that plating vanished pretty dang quick and I managed to do it without a loss of much base metal / detail. Now to get this little bugger all polished up so it's waiting when I get to that stage
I'll keep the gang here in the loop, if you are interested, as I build.
